Samantha’s POV
"I wanted to be mated with Alpha Ethan from the Shadow Claw Pack..."
"W-What?" Mother was shaken to the core as she stood from her seat. "You mean...?"
I nodded, my whole body trembling. "I don’t want to be mated with Alexander..."
"Samantha, what do you mean you won’t agree to be Alexander’s Luna? The official mate ceremony is tomorrow!" my mother demanded, her voice laced with disbelief.
I had expected this reaction. I had spent days preparing myself for this conversation, but now that it was happening, my throat felt tight, and my heart pounded against my ribs. I had already told my mother—I didn’t want to be a Luna anymore. I didn’t want to be his Luna.
I didn't respond immediately. Instead, I met her gaze, my eyes reflecting the turmoil within me. I bit my lower lip, fighting back the tears threatening to spill.
She studied me for a long moment, searching for an answer I wasn't ready to voice.
Her face softened with realization. A deep sigh escaped her lips before she turned away, shaking her head. "Fine. If that's what you want, then so be it. But understand this, Samantha—if you refuse to be Alexander's Luna, then you will have to marry Alpha Ethan. You need this. The pack needs this. Do you understand?"
Her words echoed in my head, but I barely registered them. My mind was elsewhere, reliving the moment that had shattered my heart. I could still see them, Alexander, my supposed mate, the man who was meant to be mine, tangled in an intimate embrace with someone else.
His hands… the way they roamed, tracing familiar patterns as if he had done it a hundred times before. Her fingers curled into his hair, pulling him closer, their bodies pressed together in a way that left no room for doubt. Then, I heard it—the whispered promise that shattered everything.
"I love you, not her."
I closed my eyes, trying to erase the burning memories from my mind, like a nightmare that haunts me.
And it’s not just anyone… my own sister.
I can’t tell them who it is or the reason why… not to my parents. They won’t believe me.
The betrayal had been swift and brutal, slicing through me like a blade. It was a wound that refused to heal, and now, standing here before my mother, being forced into another decision that wasn’t mine to make, that wound burned anew.
"I understand," I whispered, though the words felt hollow.
"Good, think about this first," my mother replied, her tone devoid of warmth. Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving me standing there, my world crumbling around me.
---
The mating ceremony was set to take place tomorrow. And yet, everything I thought I knew about Alexander, everything I had believed in, was suddenly different.
I met Alexander because of the alliance between our packs, mine, the Phantom Crescent Pack, and his, the Stormborn Wolves Pack. Since the moment we were betrothed, our bond had remained strong, our relationship thriving under the circumstances.
Alexander was the Alpha, born into a distinguished bloodline. He had taken over as leader when his father, the ancient Alpha, stepped down. He was powerful, commanding, and enigmatic. His presence alone demanded respect. And with his towering height, chiseled features, and magnetic aura, he was undeniably captivating.
For five years, we had been together, and never once did we fight. He treated me with love, devotion, and assurance, making me believe he was my destiny. I had thought our love was unbreakable. But that night, what should have been the pinnacle of my happiness, the realization of my dream, everything shattered.
During the announcement of our mating ceremony, I felt an unease creeping in. Then, my worst fear unfolded.
Alexander had invited someone to our ceremony, before the official mating bond was to be sealed the following day. And that someone was my sister, Cassandra.
The moment I saw her, my chest tightened. Memories of all the pain she had inflicted on me came rushing back.
The way she would yank my hair, dragging me across the floor as I screamed. The cruel insults she hurled at me, telling me I was worthless, that no one would ever love me. The slaps that left my skin burning, the bruises I had to hide. I could still hear her mocking laughter the night she locked me outside in the freezing cold, forcing me to beg to be let in. All of it still haunted me.
But what truly broke me was that she destroyed something precious to me, my necklace, the one Alexander gave me.
And now, here she was, standing in the middle of what was supposed to be my happiest moment.
My heart pounded as I turned to Alexander, pleading with him. "Why did you invite Cassandra? You know what she’s done to me! You were there! You saw everything! Please, Alexander!"
But instead of the comforting reassurance I had always received from him, I was met with something else entirely.
His expression hardened, his eyes cold and unrecognizable. Then, without warning, he shoved me. Hard.
I gasped as I stumbled backward, the force of his push sending me crashing onto the floor. Pain shot through my body as I lay there, stunned.
His voice exploded with rage, sharp and venomous. "You don’t get to tell me what to do, Samantha! I will invite whoever the hell I want, and you will deal with it!"
At that moment, I realized, something was terribly wrong.
The man I loved, the man I had trusted for years, was no longer the same. Something had changed, and I was about to find out just how much.
